Hi folks, we are a mere 10 weeks from going to Japan for our first ever (Calvin or myself) short term missions trip. We had been looking forward to this trip, to see our friends the Roods who are serving the 5th of their 10 year committment. We were excited to meet their three kids, for Eli to makes some new friends across the world, for us as a family to see another family serving in the missions field and what it might actually look like on a daily basis and within the walls of their home.
Last week just as we were getting ready to call the Roods with our preliminary flight itenary, we got word that one of their good friends John Lee who was in Japan serving with them during the summer quarter had died during a swimming accident. This tragedy has brought great sorrow to the Roods and their summer team, and raised many questions with the Japanese students about faith and death, and created a logistics nightmare for Mark Rood. In addition to trying to finish the summer student ministries, Mark has had to come back to the US for the death of his beloved grandfather, and is now accompanying John Lee's body back to southern California. Please keep the Roods in your prayers, as well as their student ministry team and all the Japanese students who are watching their Christian friends go through the death of a dear friend for the first time. John's death is not in vain, God will certainly use this as an opportunity to bring many students to him.
With this tragedy and it's aftermath, we were suddenly left to wonder if we would be more of a burden to the Roods than any help by going to Japan as planned. But praise God that the Roods have extended their invitation and wants us to come more than ever. Our team of Calvin, myself, Eli, Anita and Mike have a lot of praying to do as we can obviously see Satan working to tear down the foundations that the Roods that begun in the lives of the Japanese students. Please keep us in your prayers. We are slated to head out to Japan on 10/11/2006.
